Tips on what to see in Alaska

Well, everything, of course. Denali National Park. Portage Glacier. Kenai Fjords National Park. The Homer Spit. Independence Mine. The Matanuska Glacier. The start of the Iditarod. Fur Rendezvous. If Anchorage is your starting point, the Anchorage Museum of Art and Natural History is a good first stop. In addition to its collection of Alaskan paintings by such artists as Sydney Laurence, ivory carvings and other Native crafts, it has an excellent collection of dioramas and artifacts that capsulize Alaska's history.

Anchorage also has an excellent trail system, including the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail (the state is so young we name things after people who are still living; Tony Knowles is a former Anchorage mayor and the current governor of Alaska) which begins downtown and follows the coastline past the airport to Kincaid Park -- a good place to see moose at twilight. Trails on the Hillside, in Chugach State Park, are convenient for wilderness hikes. (The Hillside is the east side of Anchorage; the hills are mountains, and the city's newer suburbs have begun advancing up them.)

Earthquake Park near the airport is another attraction. This is the Anchorage area that suffered the most severely in the 1964 earthquake. Trees and vegetation have hidden any ruins but the earthquake's wavelike motion is preserved in the look of the ground itself.

Anchorage has a zoo, too, one that specializes in Alaskan animals. It's the place to go if your attempts to see moose or grizzly bears in the wild prove unsuccessful.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel & Tours Inc
6008 W Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, AZ 85308-3793